I generally hear him before I see him. These three o’clock in the morning nights are getting to me. And before I knew it Owen was nose to nose with me and said, “blue bed getcha your tablet”. He was clearly as exhausted as I was with his eyes barely staying open as he was talking to me. I tried to get him in my bed but off he went only to return seconds later with his tablet. I told him to go back to his bed. This is where the party began. He was truly trying to gear himself up because he did not want to fall back asleep. I tried all the tricks I know and finally pushed the button on the coffeemaker to get my fuel going. I had gotten him to lay down with me for a few minutes but all he kept doing was yelling “tablet” and spitting into the air so I couldn’t sleep. Discipline is a slippery slope with him because he will just increase the behavior in another way or in different circumstances. I always have to remember the calmer I am the calmer he is, the more I breathe the more he breathes, and sometimes I just want to sleep. I am waiting for the call from the sleep specialist that we were referred to by the first sleep specialist. The new one works with autism. The directions for me to “sit” were given throughout the day. It’s not so much for him to control me as it is to control the situation he is dealing with. If I move anything in the house he has to see what happened with it. When I open a drawer he needs it closed immediately. Lights can only be on in certain areas, at certain times. The list goes on and on and on. I forget his rules but this only creates chaos. And when we are both exhausted beyond compare I forget a lot of the rules. Some days we work through them better than other days. I can also tell when he realizes he is about to go into a meltdown because he will start singing the made-up song I sang to him so many years ago trying to get him to connect his emotions to distraction. Interactions are the best forms of distraction for him and so anytime I could tell he was going into a meltdown I would start rapid-firing questions at him even though I knew he couldn’t answer them and then start singing the song. I still do this to this day. I have to refocus his energy and find ways to calm him. And me. I always tell him we are a team and we have to work through it together. Once we got passed our three o’clock wake-up call he had a pretty calm day. There were moments his emotions geared up but we went through the steps and got back on track. He listened to Chinese on his tablet and played several apps that he has translated into Chinese. He was singing along with the songs in Chinese and saying the words in English when they were asking questions on the app. I can only imagine what he comprehends or could translate once his communication skills develop further. He doesn’t always know how to answer questions so it is difficult for me to know truly how many languages he understands and how many he could speak. He was my constant little eater today but not eating quite as much as the last few days. This momma is exhausted but I’m hoping my plan to keep him up later will translate to him sleeping later tomorrow. It hasn’t worked before but I can pray. Thankful for his hugs, even when we were both a little grumpy. I’m praying for a better night for both of us. Tomorrow we are going on an adventure. I don’t know what it will be but I need to get him to focus on other things besides his routine not being what he wants it to be. Summer school is right around the corner and I know he will be happy. Find your strength and go after your dreams. You can make a huge difference in the world. Smiles to all and donut daze!
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